I survived! Scholars read a firsthand account from a natural disaster survivor in the text Save Bella! They record the gist of the text in their journals and answer text-dependent questions. They then take notes to more deeply analyze...

Young readers demonstrate phonemic awareness in words and blends, and recognize 100 high-frequency words. Use a nursery rhyme to point out rhyming words, and change the words by putting a new letter at the beginning. Each learner will...

What makes a poem difficult? Explore that topic and more with your class as you work through the lesson detailed here. Using materials from Poetry Out Loud, a national recitation contest, individuals or small groups examine poems and...

Be more specific. Scholars take a look at domain-specific vocabulary by discussing an anchor chart. They then look at vocabulary words recorded from paragraphs one through five in Water of Life. After analyzing the vocabulary used in the...

How easy is it to live off the land? Scholars read Minerals and Metals in Your Life and discuss how Canada's natural resources meet the needs of the people. Pupils watch a brief video and discuss the gist of the text and video. They...

Scholars compare and contrast two informational texts about Poison Dart Frogs. A brief vocabulary review and discussion lead the way to a two-part close reading—the first reading for gist the second reading for details. Followed by a...

Here is a great way to get pupils to express a scientific concept in a fun way. After hearing the story of Walter the Water drop and learning facts about the water cycle, the class will write a creative expository piece describing what...

Let’s learn about frogs! Young readers are led through “Freaky Frogs,” a non-fiction article. Teach learners how to edit an article so there are fewer details to sift through. After talking through the article, they learn the six steps...

Provide these templates as aids for pupils as they work to compose summaries of both stories and informational texts. The first two frames provide sentence starters to help learners structure their summaries and include all the necessary...

Use a performance task to assess third graders' ability to read informational text. After they plan a lemonade stand business, young entrepreneurs implement that plan through informational writing. The task assumes learners can...

Help scholars comprehend a challenging text. Using the resource, pupils read excerpts from an article about the digital revolution and adolescent brain development. As they read, they answer text-dependent questions and complete a close...

Collaborate with your class after reading William Shakespeare's The Tempest with a group labeling activity. As you note key concepts or words from the play on the board, class members suggest associations and connections...

Are some resource books more confusing than helpful? The creator of Oregon Writes Open Writing Text thinks so. That is why the text remains a living document with input from teachers, librarians, and scholars. The eBook begins with...

Building upon previous lessons, scholars take to asking and answering questions about a frog's habitat. A partner discussion follows a read-aloud of an informational text in preparation for a worksheet that boosts reading comprehension...

A lesson plan challenges scholars to compare and contrast two readings about Poison Dart Frogs. Information presented comes from different informational texts, followed by a discussion, and the completion of a Venn diagram. A one-page...

Practice reading comprehension skills with an interactive all about the Maryland Colony. Scholars read a short informational text and then answer 10 questions.

An informational text about Ponce de Leon tests scholars' reading comprehension skills. Learners read the text and then answer 10 questions. Question types include multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank.

An interactive practice boosts reading comprehension skills. Scholars read an informative text, then show what they know by answering 10 questions. A progress report details their answers and overall score.

Determining which statements represent fact or the author's opinion in an integral part of reading informational text. Encourage seventh graders to read a passage about Barack Obama and the city of Chicago, as well as a passage focused...

Frogs are the theme of a lesson plan that challenges scholars to examine photographs, read informational texts, then ask and answer questions. Scholars work collaboratelively as they rotate through stations, discuss their observations,...

Looking for a resource that helps learners practice identifying fact and opinion? A four-page worksheet includes two informational text reading passages. Pupils read each passage and respond to four multiple choice and one...

A three-part writing assessment challenges scholars to think critically about schools of the past and present. Learners read informative texts, answer questions to prepare for a discussion, research in small groups, complete a Venn...

How did Martin Luther King, Jr. sway people with his speeches? Scholars carry out a close reading of the Montgomery Bus Boycott speech and use the Close Reading Guide to help them work through the powerful text. While reading, they...

Look it up. Scholars use a dictionary and thesaurus to verify the meaning of the research vocabulary words they defined in the previous activity. They then use sticky notes to write a synonym for each word. Finally, individuals choose a...